Source: National Cancer Institute,

SEER Statistics site 6 http://seer.cancer.gov/faststats/An Old NemesisPhotograph by Peter Essick

Lead paint chips speckle the gut of a two-year-old Cleveland girl.

Phased out decades ago, lead paint is still injuring children whoswallow it.

By David Ewing Duncan Photographs by Peter Essick

7“Earth at the Tipping Point”

8 UN Report:Ecosystem damage is so severe that we can no longer be confident that the Planet Earth can support human life for more than two generations.Four main findings on the links between ecosystems and human well-being: More...10.1Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems faster and more extensively than in any period in human history. This has been due largely to rapidly growing demands for food, freshwater, timber, fiber, and fuel. The result has been a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth. More...10.2 The changes made to ecosystems have contributed to substantial gains in human well-being and economic development, but these gains have been achieved at growing costs. These costs include the degradation of many ecosystem services, increased risks of abrupt changes, and increased poverty for some groups of people. These problems, unless addressed, will substantially reduce the benefits that future generations get from ecosystems. More...10.3 This degradation of ecosystem services could get significantly worse during the next 50 years. It is a barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. More...10.4 Reversing the degradation of ecosystems while meeting increasing demands for their services is a challenge. This challenge can be partially met in the future under scenarios involving significant changes to policies, institutions, and practices. However, these required actions will have to be substantial when compared to the actions currently taken.

http://www.millenniumassessment.org

9autism-society.org

1011 Environment and AutismThe autism epidemic is alerting us to the importance of individual susceptibility to environmental pollutants. Environmental safeguards that protect a theoretical average person still leave thousands at risk. Increased understanding of susceptibility will provide the basis of stronger health policy that truly protect the most vulnerable. Richard Wiles EWG

Findings: For every 1000 pounds of mercury

that is emitted from Texas smokestacks thereis a 61% increase in Autism rates in that state. 17Texas autism rates,by school districts

1990-1993 1998-2000 18 Potential association between autism rates, Autism rates environmental mercury other toxins in Texas Palmer, et al., Health and Place 2006 Jun;12(2):203-9 On average, for each 1000 lb of environmentally released mercury, there was a 43% increase in the rate of special education services and a 61% increase in the rate of autism.

"[Rowan's] been on this planet for 18

months, and he's loaded with a chemical I've never heard of," Holland, 37, said. "He had two to three times the level of flame retardants in his body that's been known to cause thyroid dysfunction in lab rats." "We are the humans in a dangerous and unnatural experiment in the United States, and I think it's unconscionable," said Dr. Rowan's blood had Leo Trasande, assistant director of thehigh levels of a Center for Children's Health and thechemical that can cause Environment at the Mount Sinai Medical28thyroid dysfunction in Center in New York City.vironmental Health Perspectives • 114:8 | August 2006

29 112: 3 |March 2004 Environmental Health Perspectives

30115:5 | May 2007 • Environmental Health Perspectives “This is a red flag, the impact of this class of chemicals,whose toxicity has been under-appreciated, must be studiedin human populations, and fast.” M.M. Merzenrich

The sporadic nature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) argues for an environmental link that may drive AD pathogenesis; however, the triggering factors and the period of their action are unknown. Recent studies in rodents have shown that exposure to lead (Pb) during brain development predetermined the expression and regulation of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its amyloidogenic beta-amyloid (Abeta) product in old age. Furthermore, developmental exposure to Pb altered the levels, characteristics, and intracellular distribution of Abeta staining and amyloid plaques in the frontal association cortex. These latent effects were accompanied by a decrease in DNA methyltransferase activity and higher levels of oxidative damage to DNA, indicating that epigenetic imprinting in early life influenced the expression of AD-related genes and promoted DNA damage and pathogenesis. These data suggest that AD pathogenesis is influenced by early life exposures and argue for both an environmental trigger and a developmental origin of AD. Wu J, et. Al. J Neurosci. 2008 Jan 2;28(1):3-9.

43444546Women Lead Environmental Health Movement There is an Ethiopian proverb that whenspider webs unite they can tie up a lion. The lion of globally destructive productionpatterns and consumption may one day beensnared and ultimately domesticated by thegossamer webs of human consciousness andcommunity action.

Biosphere destruction mortally wounds all…

we come to understand their wounds are sooften intimately related to the wounds of theearth. 47What happens when we realize that herbreast cancer,husband's lymphoma,brother's melanoma,son's learning disability,best's friend's attention deficit disorder,daughter's endometriosis,niece's cleft palate,cousin's chronic anxiety and panic disorder,best friend's severe chemical sensitivity, bestfriend's daughter's asthma,uncle's infertility,neighbor's son's testicular cancer, andsister's daughter's childhood leukemia,are found to have common causes? 48 What happens when we begin to understand thatthese new human pandemics may be profoundlyconnected to what is happening to the fish in thesea, the birds in the sky, and the animals of theearth… the web of life?

Perhaps we will understand that cancers &

infertility of the fish, disappearance of the frogs,cleft palates of the mice, shifts in genderorientation of the birds, susceptibility to virusesand infections of the seals, disappearance of thesongbirds… that all this and much, much more maybe telling us a story that is our story.

49 The story that the birds and the fish and themice are telling us is the story of Inter-Being-- the story that all life on earth is truly,breathtakingly, concretely connected rightnow; what we do to the mice of the field andthe birds of the forest, we also ultimately doalso to ourselves and our families. This is among the great stories of our time.

Michael Lerner, President, Commonweal, Bolinas, CA

http://www.commonweal.org/extinctenvhealth.htmlThe Age of Extinction and The Emerging Environmental Health Movement

abnormal 57 abnormal Universality of MetabolismThe network of biochemical reactions inside cells are some some of the most complex in nature. These pathways can be displayed on a single chart that applies to all life forms on the planet, reflecting biology’s unity within diversity.Central to almost every step in metabolism is ATP- life’s energy currency.At the center of anabolism (synthesizing) and catabolism (breaking down) in all cells is citric acid cycleCitric acid cycle is the source of energetic electrons that generate 90% of ATP in cells 58“Citric acid cycle, core of biosynthesis and all cellular biology, the creative and generative center of all life. It has persisted for four billion years and remains the central metabolic essence of biology from cellular biology to global ecology. It survived the oxygen catastrophe, remaining the center of biosynthesis. It is the basic aspect of our search for laws of life.

 Contain Citric Acid cycle- supplies energetic

electrons to Electron Transport Chain (ETC) tp produce 90% of cell’s ATP Each mitochondria has approximately 17,000 ETCs, a whopping ~ 600 amps current at rest for an adult Mitochondria deliver energy for life and maintain order and structure in body

64 Mitochondria summary……are tiny organelles inside cells that generate almost all ATP for cell work. ~ 300-400 per cell, i.e. ten million billion in human body. Look like bacteria…appearances not deceptive: Once free living organisms that adapted to life inside larger cells ~ two billion years ago. Their unique DNA is a badge of former independence. Their tortuous relations with their host cells have shaped the whole fabric of life, from energy, sex, and fertility, to cell suicide, ageing, and death.

67 Autism and Mito Dysfunction Unknown how many children at risk may as high as 1 in 50. Thimerosal, mercury, aluminum, pollution, pesticides, medicines and prenatal alcohol exposure have all been shown to damage mitochondria. 1 in 20 children with autism may have underlying mitochondrial dysfunction. The CDC is beginning to wake up and address national vaccine schedule. The genetic susceptibility for mitochondrial dysfunction is not rare and how environmental triggers interact is still largely unknown. Children with mitochondrial dysfunction are more susceptible to regressive autism following viral infections and/or a vaccine reaction. 68 Hannah Poling and mitochondrial dysfunction-a wake up call To understand Hannah's case, it is important to understand mitochondria, which act like batteries in our cells to produce energy critical for normal function. Because the government's concession hinged on the presence of Hannah's underlying medical condition, mitochondrial dysfunction, some claim the decision is relevant to very few other children with autism. As a neurologist, scientist and father, I disagree.Emerging evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction may not be rare at all among children with autism. In the only population-based study of its kind, Portuguese researchers confirmed that at least 7.2 percent, and perhaps as many as 20 percent, of autistic children exhibit mitochondrial dysfunction. While we do not yet know a precise U.S. rate, 7.2 percent to 20 percent of children does not qualify as "rare." In fact, mitochondrial dysfunction may be the most common medical condition associated with autism.Although unlikely, if the Portuguese studies are incorrect and mitochondrial dysfunction were found to be a rarity occurring in less than 1 percent of all autism, it would still impact up to 10,000 children (250,000 worldwide), based on current estimates that 1 million people in the U.S. (25 million worldwide) have autism. If, on the other hand, the research showing that 7.2 percent to 20 percent of children with autism have mitochondrial dysfunction is correct, then the implications are both staggering and urgent. Jon Poling MD,PhD 69 Oxidative StressCellular Dysfunction

70Metabolic Adaptations to an Oxygen Environment Are Closely linked to Evolution (and survival)

Membrane damage Polysaccharide damage

We have discovered a previously unrecognized regulatory

pathway on which chemically diverse toxicants converge, at environmentally relevant exposure levels, to disrupt the function of progenitor cells of the developing central nervous system.The remarkable sensitivity of progenitor cells to low levels of toxicant exposure, and the discovery of a mechanism by which small increases in oxidative status can markedly alter cell function, provide a novel and specific means by which exposure to chemically diverse toxicants might perturb normal development. 77Mark Nobel, University of Rochester Medical Center Used with permission 78 Many environmental toxicants are potent pro-oxidantsEnvironmentally relevant levels of toxicants make cells more oxidized in precisely the range that alters the response to the environmental signals, with variable consequences:• Cell division is suppressed• Cells are made more vulnerable to inducers of cell death Cell regulation is altered

Mark Noble, University of Rochester Medical Center Used with Permission

Transformed C Oxidative stress induces:

cells to proliferate, but at

higher oxidative stress, cells Mitotic Stimulus will die by apoptosis or competent necrosis A Differentiated • C - highly proliferative tumor or transformed cells to die by apoptosis or necrosis Redox status Aw (1999) Am J. Clin Nutr 70:559 Reductants Oxidants 80 What We Can Do Precautionary Principle“When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be take even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.”

Wingspread Conference, 1998.

81 In this study the average elemental concentration in organic foods on a fresh weight basis was found to be about twice that of commercial foods.

Altern ComplementMed, 2001;7(2): 161-173

82“an organic diet provides a dramatic and immediate protectiveeffect against exposures to organophosphorus pesticides... Withineight to 36 hours after switching to organic versions, the pesticides inthe urine disappeared and remained nondectable untillconventional diets were reintroduced ”

“dietary intake of OP pesticides represents the major 83

source of exposure in young children.” Canada first to label bisphenol A as officially dangerousWould pave way for a federal ban ENVIRONMENT REPORTERApril 15,2008

Sperm Density Revisited: An Analysis of 101 Studies Published 1934-1996,” Environmental Health Perspectives 108:961-966, 2000. 86 The Truth About First It Was Bees, NowHoneybees Provide Clues It's Bats That Are to Their Disappearance Dying

Natural News January 24, 2008 by: Laura

Natural News April 11, 2008 by: Heidi Weldon Stevenson 87All Things are Bound TogetherOther species are our kin. This statement is literally true inevolutionary time. All higher eukaryotic organisms, from floweringplants to insects and humanity itself, are thought to have descendedfrom a single ancestral population that lived about 1.8 billion yearsago…All this distant kinship is stamped by a common genetic codeand elementary features of cell structure.”Edward O. Wilson

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one threadwithin it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All thingsare bound together. All things connect.Chief Seattle

88 Autism as a Wake-up CallThe rise in autism diagnoses, along with the rise in otherimmune and chronic illnesses, is really a wake-up call. Putalongside the warnings about the ecological instability of ourplanet, it shows that our situation is serious. It calls for pullingout all the stops and throwing our best intelligence, resourcesand organization into getting a grip.Autistic individuals may not be “different” from the rest of usbut simply “more sensitive” to environmental injury—they maybe the “canaries in the coal mine” warning us of impendinggreater disaster. If the level of environmental insults continues torise, more children and more adults—and more of life on earthwill experience harm.Martha Herbert 89Additional Sources ofInformation Changing the Course of Autism, Bryan Jepson MD Healing the New Childhood Epidemics, Ken Bock MD Children with Starving Brains, Jaquelyn McCandless MD Special Diets for Special Kids, Lisa Lewis Evidence of Harm, David Kirby Websites – www.autism.com – www.safeminds.org – www.autismone.org – www.generationrescue.org – www.vaccineawareness.com – www.ddr.org 90 Environmental Groups Save our kids, heal our planet. www.sokhop.com Collaborative on Health and the Environment: www.cheforhealth.org Institute for Children’s Environmental Health: www.iceh.org Environmental Health News: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ Our Stolen Future: www.ourstolenfuture.org Pesticide Action Network: http://www.panna.org/ Coming Clean: www.chemicalbodyburden.org Natural Resources Defense Council: www.nrdc.org/health Beyond Pesticides: www.beyondpesticides.org Greenpeace Chemical Kitchen: www.greenpeace.org Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow http://www.healthytomorrow.org/